By Jess Kusak
Alumni from NSC’s School of Education gathered together as the fall semester came to a close for the first annual pasta dinner and concert. Hosted in collaboration with the Office of College Relations, this glorious event provided education, speech pathology and business program graduates from the School of Education an opportunity to reconnect and reminisce over food and entertainment. Also, in attendance were School of Education faculty and staff, NSC President Fred Maryanski and Provost Lesley Di Mare.
Interim Dean of the School of Education, Dr. Lori Navarrete, addressed the gathering, sharing her pride in the School’s graduates. Seeing our graduates again and hearing about the wonderful contributions you are all making in schools and in the community really warms the hearts of our faculty, staff and administration this evening, said Navarrete. We are very proud of your accomplishments, she continued.
Over dinner, graduates shared their stories of how their educational experiences positively influenced their lives and careers. Chem Oelrich, a 2008 Secondary Education alum and science teacher at a Henderson high school, shared how she implores the use of hands-on learning in the classroom, something she experienced herself at NSC. From the class of 2007, Secondary Education alum and high school English teacher Brayden Olsen thanked his NSC education instructors for the impact they had on his love for teaching and learning.
Following the dinner portion of the event, attendees enjoyed a festive holiday concert performed by the Henderson Orchestra at the Convention Center in Downtown Henderson.
We (the School of Education) wanted to build a feeling of community and let our students know that even after graduation, they are still part of the NSC family, said Anne Browne, Project Coordinator for the School of Education.
Dr. Navarrete felt the event was a great success. Browne was pleased with the outcome of the event as well, noting it would serve as an excellent springboard for the establishment of the School of Education Alumni Association.
Looking to the future of the School of Education’s Alumni Association, Dr. Navarrete spoke to the necessity of nurturing the growth of the group. It is critical to build a strong foundation for our alumni association, so that it can be an avenue for providing networking, fundraising and scholarship opportunities for our graduates and future NSC students, she said.
As the first of hopefully many more alumni gatherings at NSC, the pasta dinner and concert proved to be an all-around success.

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